Washington, D.C. – At today’s bipartisan Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform markup, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet introduced his comprehensive plan to overhaul Washington’s broken budgeting and appropriations processes.
In a Medium post today, Bennet reflected on the irresponsible budgeting he has witnessed during his decade in Washington, outlined the principles that he believes should underpin reforms, and summarized the Fiscal Reform Act of 2018—his plan to overhaul budget processes and reduce the national deficit.
Bennet wrote:
“Today, the bipartisan Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform is considering a bill to reform how we fund the federal government. In Congress these days, we rarely pass a budget, rarely appropriate on time, and have created an unprecedented situation in which deficits continue to skyrocket even as the economy grows and unemployment falls.
“We have a lot of work to do to get America’s fiscal house in order, and I appreciate the seriousness with which Committee members have worked to improve our broken process for budgeting and appropriations. With that said, I worry that our efforts will fall short of the real reforms our fiscal situation requires.
“For that reason, I am putting forward a comprehensive plan—the Fiscal Reform Act of 2018—to overhaul our broken system for budgeting and appropriations. Below is a brief history of the irresponsible budgeting I’ve witnessed in Washington, the principles that I believe should underpin future reforms, and a short summary of my plan. I hope you will let me know what you think about this proposal and share ideas for how we can improve it.
“Although it is unlikely the Fiscal Reform Act passes today, I hope it will inform future efforts to return us to a place where Washington budgets without the toxic partisanship, brinkmanship, and delay that have characterized my last decade in the Senate. Today should mark the beginning of our work, not the end.”
The full Medium post is available HERE.
The bill text of the Fiscal Reform Act of 2018 is available HERE.
A video of the markup is available HERE.